Alternative transportation modes hold on to federal funding

KEN FOUNTAIN, The Examiner

Published 6:29 am, Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Although they didn't get everything they wanted, advocates of pedestrian and bicycle trails and other so-called "alternative" transportation modes claimed victory after a vote last week by a regional transportation policy body.

The Transportation Policy Council, comprised of representatives of governmental bodies of the 13-county Houston-Galveston Area Council, voted overwhelmingly Friday to target the majority of a large pot of federal dollars on traditional "mobility" — traditional highway construction and freight rail — projects during the next couple of years.

But in the option (among four on the table) they voted for, the council chose not to reallocate $12.8 million in alternative modes like hike-and-bike trails that some members — particularly from outlying suburbs and rural areas — thought would be better spent on the more traditional modes.

Friday's vote — which had delayed from the TPC's Feburary meeting — was preceded by comments in support of both positions from more than 30 members of the public and a spirited debate among the TPC members.

At issue was a total of $85 million in future funding from two federal sources -- Surface Transportation Program Metro Mobility (STP-MM) and Congestion/Mitigation Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAC) funds — that will be part of the remainder of the region's 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program, also known as TIP. The entire TIP over the four-year program includes more than $9.8 billion from various sources.

During a workshop meeting before the official meeting, the TPC members stuck out the differences in transportation priorities from the various parts of the region.

Many of the representatives from suburban areas — including Fort Bend County Commissioner and CTC chair James Patterson — said that with expected shortfalls in state funding for mobility projects already planned and budgeted, using $12.8 million on alternative modes might be more of a luxury than a necessity.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the panel's first vice-chair, also strongly favored emphasizing mobility projects in the short-term, even if the region's TIP might place greater priority on alternative modes in the future.

"Even if we say this (alternative modes) is important, do we need to get there immediately?" Emmett asked.

But Houston City Councilwoman Sue Lovell — who had led the effort to delay the vote in February — and Metro president and CEO George Greanias held out for keeping funds for alternatives intact. Greanias particularly voiced concern that the TPC would be setting a bad precedent for the region's transportation policy by stressing traditional mobility projects.

"This represents a philosophical position," Greanias said. "This will be the basis of the conversation for the future."

During the public comment portion of the regular meeting, many residents and representatives the suburban Cy-Fair area -- including Mary Evans, president of the Cy-Fair Area Chamber of Commerce, and Jersey Village Mayor Mike Castro -- asked the panel to make sure that funding was targeted toward a TxDOT application for expansion of the heavily congested U.S. Highway 290.

The majority of the speakers, many of whom wore bicycle-shaped pins, spoke out for keeping funding for alternative modes intact.

Victoria Harron, who described herself as "not a bicyclist, but a taxpayer", said that with increasing health care costs and rates of obesity and diabetes, continuing to build huge highways was "a luxury that we can no longer afford."

"Please don't be extravagant with our tax dollars," she said.

Houston City Councilwoman Melissa Noriega, who is not a TPC member, said that increasing alternative forms of transportation is an economic development issue for the region. Budgetary concerns have created a false choice between those and traditional mobility projects, she added.

"It's too bad that the burdens from the state have pitted us against each other," she said.

Some people, including David Crossley of the regional think tank Houston Tomorrow, called for the panel to consider an "Option 5" that would move even more federal dollars toward alternative modes than the four options being considered.

As the TPC members considered the vote, their positions hadn't seemed to change noticeably.

Emmett pointed out that recently released U.S. Census figures showed that the greatest population growth in Harris County has been in the outlying and unincorporated portions, far from the inner-Loop environs where he said most of the speakers lived. The best use of the available dollars was mobility projects that have already been committed.

After a proposed motion by Lovell to approve Option 4 (the one most favored by the alternate modes advocates), the panel voted overwhelmingly for Option 3, which applies the minimum proposed funding ranges without delaying any projects already planned. Seventy-four percent of the total funding, or $256.8 million, goes toward mobility projects, while 15 percent, or 15 percent goes toward alternative modes. Another $37.2 million, or 11 percent, goes toward air quality projects.

After the vote, many of the alternative mode advocates gathered outside the meeting room. Aaron Change, a board member of BikeHouston, said that while the selected option wasn’t ideal, his group was satisfied that it didn’t remove any of the funds previously earmarked for alternatives.